Over the next couple weeks, the controversy over the naked Toby photos died down online, replaced by a dog whose bark sounded like it was saying, “You’re fired!”

Jessica seemed to fall off our radar completely, the wind in her sails dying down as soon as the controversy did too. Turned out, secret photos of a start football player’s cock was just a flash in the pan of modern news. Unfortunately, his Coach didn’t feel the same way.

He was still suspended and I felt awful about it. I was determined to find a way to fix everything and make it up to Toby somehow.

None of the executives at the newspaper had cared much about our post on Toby’s parent’s restaurant that went viral.

At least we didn’t get into trouble. Turned out they were happy to get the attention and clicks to the website for people to learn more about the Toby scandal.

“You sure this is a good idea?” Billy asked, as we hung out in the cafeteria.

He had his chair leaned back against the wall.

“Will you stop putting all my ideas down? The last one worked pretty well.”

“We got lucky because it actually did go viral, at least locally.”

“Whatever, Billy.” I stood. “I’ll see you around.”

“Your break over?”

“No, but I will talk to Scott. You want to come?”

“No.”

“I didn’t think so.”

He had no comeback as I walked away, heading to the newsroom.

As I’d expected, Jessica had not gone through with the advertising order, canceling it soon after Scott asked for the first down payment. Poor guy. He looked up as I approached his desk.

“Here comes trouble,” he said.

“The good sort of trouble.”

I stopped next to his desk, seeing a recipe website up on his computer screen.

“I’ve got an idea for a photo gallery that might go viral. Can I get permission to work on it the next few nights?”

“Depends. Tell me what it is, and maybe I’ll say yes.”

“It’s a surprise.”

“I don’t work like that.”

“Look, Scott, you don’t like me for whatever reason, but you’ve got to give me some room to breathe creatively, or I will find another job.”

He stared at me, eyes open wide in shock.

“You’ve changed so much,” he said. “And not in a good way.”

“Why? Because I stand up for myself now? I’m a good employee. One of your best photographers. If you say otherwise, I’ll walk out that door now and never come back.”

My heart raced as I stood up for myself. Was I pushing too hard too fast?

“Fine,” he said then frowned.

“Great. I’ll be done by next Monday. It will be good. Not as good as a hundred grand advertising order, but you know…”

I let my voice trail off. He turned his attention back to his computer screen.

“Let me know when you’re done, Haley.”

While technically still my boss, our working relationship had changed after his deal with Jessica fell through. The publisher had reamed him for two hours straight about loss wages.

Meanwhile, the viral campaign Billy and I had started continued to bring in new visitors. As I walked over to my desk, I thought about Billy.

Had I been too hard on him earlier in the break room? I bypassed my desk and walked down the back stairs to see if he was outside smoking. I found him in our usual spot.

A cloud of vapor filled the air momentarily before dissipating. He stared in my direction without saying a word. I walked over with my head tilted back, staring at him.

“Hey,” I said, flashing him a smile.

He took another puff, and turned away

“I’ve got to get over to Chez Louie,” he said. “I’m about to take off.”

“It’s so good of you to keep helping him, Billy. Thank you.”

“I don’t mind it. His father was so impressed, he hired me part-time to help him keep growing the restaurant.”

“That’s great, Billy.” I smiled.

“You okay? I saw you and Scott talking,” he asked.

“Yeah, I told him I wanted to do a new photo shoot with Toby to make up for the naked one.”

“Good idea. How did he take it?”

“He tried to balk, but I told him I would quit.”

“You did not,” he said, smiling.

I nodded.

“He buckled.”

“I’m so proud of you.”

“For what? Being me?”

“Yes, dear, for being you.”

“Now I have to come up with something special. I thought about doing a long exposure series of shots on the field at night, but I know his coach will not let us anywhere near the stadium.”

A smile spread across Billy’s face.

“What?” I asked, knowing the expression quite well.

“You won’t believe this, but I know someone who works at the stadium.”

“Get out of here.”

“I do. And he owes me a favor.”

“Owes you a favor?”

“Long story. Let’s just say I made him happy one night when I dragged him out of the closet.”

“You’ll have to tell me sometime.”

“Maybe. Let me call him and see if we can sneak in. When do you need to do it?”

“The sooner the better.” I pressed my hands together and bounced up and down in excitement. “Thank you so much, Billy. You’re the best work-husband a woman could hope to have.”

“I told you, I’m the wife, but I get what you’re saying.”

We smiled at each other. By the end of our shift that night, we had everything planned out. Toby would meet us at the service entrance to the stadium. The guy said we wouldn’t be able to turn the lights on, but I didn’t care. I would work my photography magic with long exposures and the full moon overhead.

Come hell or high-water, I wanted to help restore Toby’s image in the eyes of the world, especially his fans. A few stunning photos would go a long way in helping. All I needed to do was capture the perfect shot and edit it until it was even closer to perfection. Easy, right?